Class project gets students their start on career networking
Brian Warren, Precision Machining Engineering Technology instructor and program coordinator at Meridian Community College, has introduced a way to empower his students by incorporating LinkedIn, the professional networking platform, into their educational journey.
His goal: Equip students with technical, professional, and networking skills essential for their future careers in CNC machining, automation, and manufacturing.
"I was thinking about all the success and tremendous support network the program, past graduates, and myself have received from LinkedIn, and I wanted to come up with a way to replicate that success for all students in the program, not just a few that choose to network on LinkedIn, so I needed an incentive for participation," Warren said.
So, he developed a contest to connect the students with industry officials by getting them to create LinkedIn social media account and gain connections. The top prize was a tool kit with $300 amount of goods, including Milwaukee Pack-Out Tool Back Packs, Mitutoyo dial calipers, Mitutoyo 6” scale, and thread gauges, all of which were donated.
The top five winners were Hannah Buchanan, Jaylon Pruett, Tyson Marlow, Cade Cook, and Tyler Bearden. "A couple of these guys went over 300 connections, and Hannah is now around 600! Hannah didn't even use social media before this contest," Warren said. "She rose to the challenge and is posting regularly now."
“I'm up to 400 connections now," said Marlow, who plans to graduate from the program in May 2025. The contest, he said, "was a great way to reach out to companies that you've never heard of before. If you plan on moving off, you can reach more people not in your area but around America.”
Buchanan, who also is looking forward to May 2025 graduation, echoed her classmate's sentiments. “I’m already connected with so many," she said. When asked why she wanted to enter the competition, she replied. "There was a prize, and I wanted to win."
Warren noted he chose LinkedIn as the primary platform for this challenge due to its strong presence in the CNC machining and manufacturing community and professionals willing to invest their time and energies in encouraging the next generation. “Their LinkedIn newsfeeds will be populated with CNC machining and manufacturing posts from people worldwide," Warren said.
Warren said the response has been overwhelmingly positive, adding that it's been "truly humbling."
Enoch Precision Machining Full-Time Trainer Jetson Porter for Clackamas, Oregon, was one industry representative who connected. "I loved the LinkedIn challenge because it opened up the students to people who are actually working in the industry they’re learning about," he said. "That gives them lifelong access to an incredible pool of knowledge from across the country that can help them achieve their goals throughout their careers.”
And the bag full of tools, Porter said, "was just the icing on the cake. That shows an investment in the students far beyond that of most educational facilities. These tools will be with them throughout their careers, and they will never forget how they got them."
At one point during the contest, while the MCC instructor shared posts about the students’
LinkedIn Challenge, Warren's own post views over seven days surpassed 70,000 views.
Renowned companies, including Blue Origin, SpaceX, Eaton, Lockheed Martin, Glock, Milwaukee Tool, and Boeing, reached out, Warren said. And there have also been connections with numerous workforce education professionals nationwide.
Toni Neary, director of community engagement and workforce innovation with SME (formerly Society of Manufacturing Engineers), said the exercise shows the students the world of career possibilities when they graduate and complete the program. "Brian is always innovating, and this is just his latest showcase of how," she said.
Another industry representative, Jeff Cox, technical sales engineer with Methods Machine Tools Inc., said being on the site gives the students insight on the amount and different area of manufacturing are in the arena. “It also gives the students a sense of pride and inclusion to the manufacturing/ machining community, he said.
Meaghan Ziemba, podcaster, technical writer, brand storyteller, and marketer for industrial manufacturers who is also with Z-Ink Solutions in Rockford, Illinois, said there's been another bonus for the students participating. "They also have a network of individuals willing to help and mentor them right at their fingertips."
"This was a great project for these students, to simply engage them on a professional workplace platform and show them the power of networking in a positive and meaningful way," said Rachel Marshall, co-owner of Excel Machine, located in Pleasant Grove, Utah. She had followed Warren through LinkedIn for over a year and credited him for engaging his MCC students in the social media network. "Right now, schooling is the focus (like it should be)," she said, adding, "but how they take their studies and skills and showing them the world – this was a great introduction for them to see how social media can work in their favor."
She added this advice to the students: "Professionalism online is just as important as professionalism with the office or shop floor."
Looking ahead, Warren plans to encourage students to share tutorials and their most impressive work on LinkedIn. His ultimate goal is to promote the students and make their journey the focus, not just helping them land their first job but assisting them in launching successful careers.
"My time in their lives may be short, but it's important. Workforce education is not about helping one student gain one place of employment; it is about giving them all the tools they need to succeed over their lifetime to provide for their future. This includes reasoning, processing, morals, work ethic, empathy, drive, and ambition. It does not always work for each student, but I will still try my best for each student, " Warren said.
He added, "I do not want just to simply help them land their first job; I want to help them launch a career. LinkedIn will play a big part in that for a large part of their career."
For more information, visit meridiancc.edu/precisionmachining.